From runway to hallway

Choosing paint colours to promote seasons may have become science, but inspiration remains rooted in fashion

The colour of the year, tango tangerine, continues this fall in Benjamin Moore's Montpelier shade (AF-555). The shades of orange being seen this year are echoes of fashion trends by designers such as Simon Chang.

Photograph by: Handout photos
, Simon Chang / Benjamin Moore

It starts with a shade of lipstick. Or maybe an eye-shadow. Perhaps even what happened on a Paris runway six months ago.

From there, the idea glides quietly from the catwalk to the boardroom and before too long, at a conference in Miami, 500 representatives from every manufacturing industry under the sun are all pondering one thing: Is this the colour of the year?

And that, according to Canada's paint experts, is how those new deep plum-coloured boots you now have parked in the closet also happen to be the same shade as the cushions you bought to freshen things up in the living room.

Coincidence? Not a bit of it, says Alison Goldman, CIL paint's national brand manager. According to her, everything from paint colour to carpet choices are, more or less, dictated by what happens in the world of fashion.

"There is a definite connection between fashion and paint, this year more than any other year," she says. "I look at runway, makeup trends - MAC cosmetics is really great for colour trends. What's inspiring people? Fashion changes more quickly, so it moves a little slower in paint than the catwalk, but it's visible."

So much so that, for a second time, Canadian paint manufacturer Beauti-Tone has turned to iconic Montreal-based fashion designer Simon Chang to develop their Oh Canada! Trend Colour Collection. After 30 years as one of the country's most instantly recognizable brands, Chang says the colour story he wants to tell is built around Canada's vast geography and the tones within it.

"Look at the diversity of the country," he enthuses. "Artists pick up the landscape and interpret it into colour, form and shape. So I wanted to make sure the theme covers the country and unites it." The result includes the warm, earthy tones of West Coast forests, chic pomegranate and grey steel of urban centres, East Coast marine blues and boreal greens.

The colours are also reflected in Chang's current collection, but for interiors, the hues have been modified, explains Bev Bell of Beauti-Tone.

"I could wear a bright coral blouse and feel great, but I can't paint my whole room in it," she says. "Some people would have no issue painting a room in raspberry; others might wear it, but not have their home in that colour. So we tone them down when we pick them up from fashion. The colours are still on trend, but they're livable."

It's a fine balancing act that starts far away from the paint can, with committees of experts with the powerful Color Marketing Group. Before a new pigment is developed, companies - in this case, paint manufacturers - develop a colour palette based on what they see in fashion and elsewhere such as Pinterest, TV shows and blogs.

"We have a team of 10 across North America who work on looking at colour trends in automotive, fashion and popular culture," says Sharon Grech, Benjamin Moore's colour and design spokeswoman. "Then we talk about what we're seeing in Texas versus, say, Montreal. We go to international trade shows like Maison and Objet in Paris or the interior design show in Toronto."

Once identified, developed and refined, the trends are brought several times a year to a conference of the Color Marketing Group, a collective of experts founded in 1962 that aims to determine which colours "sell" best. Once a small group of designers, it now includes members from industries as diverse as makers of toothbrushes, toys, cars and tissues.

After several committee meetings over three days - the fall conference was at Miami's South Beach in October - a palette of 12 colours is chosen as the "it" colours for the season. From there, each industry refines the palette to suit their needs.

Although there have been missteps - "Nissan is forward-thinking in their colours, but one year they brought out a brown car and they couldn't give that car way," says Bell, laughing - it's become a fine science.

Yet still, adds Grech, even the best colour predictions must always contend with one wild card: personal taste.

"I find it amazing how many people will email our customer service and ask about a paint colour in a TV show, like Mad Men. These days, people are skipping traditional inspiration, like that scarf you picked up on a trip to Thailand. They know everything is customizable. People start with an inspiration," she says, "and they bring it home."

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The colour of the year, tango tangerine, continues this fall in Benjamin Moore's Montpelier shade (AF-555). The shades of orange being seen this year are echoes of fashion trends by designers such as Simon Chang.

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